Southeast Charlotte middle school students walk out over handling of sexual violence, harassment
Dozens of students at a southeast Charlotte middle school participated in a walkout Monday, protesting what they say has been a poor response to reports of sexual violence or harassment on campus.
Seventh- and eighth-graders at Randolph IB Middle School on Water Oak Road walked out to the front of the school around 11:50 a.m., to get administrators to “do something about kids being inappropriately touched on campus,” according to a social media post. Some held signs that read: “Support Sexual Assault Survivors” and “It’s Not A Joke.” The protest lasted about 10 minutes.
Savannah Henderson, a seventh-grader, organized the protest for her friends. She told The Charlotte Observer Monday she was not able to take part in the walk out.
“We want to get awareness for my school’s issues,” Savannah told the Observer. “We are protesting the lack of response to sexual assaults on campus.”
Students want to feel safe at the school, she said.
“It needs to stop,” Savannah said.
Two students told the Observer they were victims of harassment and inappropriate touching during this school year and felt school leaders dismissed their concerns.
In a message to families Monday, principal Kevin Woods acknowledged students participated in a peaceful protest on campus advocating against sexual assault. He said the school’s top priority is to support “the academic and social-emotional needs of students while maintaining a safe and orderly learning environment.”
“We respect and support the right of our students to advocate for causes that are important to them and welcome the opportunity to work with any student or student group to discuss appropriate and creative ways to do so while at school,” Woods said.
Woods also said students can contact him or any school administrator. He encouraged parents to talk to their children about the importance of expressing themselves in appropriate ways at school.
“It’s important to know that disorderly conduct that disrupts school operations is not acceptable and will be handled compassionately but firmly in accordance with the Code of Student Conduct,” he said.
Briel Cunningham, a seventh-grade student, said she participated in the protest because she wants to send the message to principals to “listen to victims.” Protesters chanted and walked around until school leaders came out and told them to get inside, students told the Observer.
In October, police investigated a report that a 13-year-old girl was assaulted on her school bus. Woods in a message to parents at the time said, “Our school remains committed to the safety of our students both on campus as well as our school buses.”
Not the first in CMS
The protest Monday isn’t the first organized at Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools over the last year. Last summer, students mostly from Myers Park High School marched almost a mile in a call for greater transparency, better protocols and more education at school regarding how reports of sexual assault are handled.
Students walked out of classrooms and held a large protest at Olympic High School in October, calling on more to be done to protect students after a fellow student reported being raped on campus.
CMS’ response to sexual violence reports from students and how it’s handled Title IX cases, including multiple years-old cases at Myers Park High, prompted a pair of lawsuits, federal Title IX investigation that found some shortcomings within the district and internal investigations.
Title IX is part of federal education law that prohibits discrimination based on sex and requires schools thoroughly investigate harassment or sexual violence reports from students or staff.
Problems during the 2021-22 school year, as the Observer has previously reported, ranged from allowing a football player accused of sexual assault at school to play while wearing an ankle bracelet to a Title IX investigation concluding a female student lied about being groped and then was punished her for making a false report.
This year, three CMS administrators — two principals and one assistant principal — were suspended after Title IX internal investigations. All three were reassigned to positions within the district.
‘Should’ve made it a big deal’
After CMS faced intense scrutiny for months related to how the district handled past reports of sexual assault and harassment on its campuses, then-Superintendent Earnest Winston announced in November staff would be added to the district’s central Title IX office.
Earlier in the school year, district officials promised annual Title IX training would be enhanced, and it created a student-centered task force to review how student reports of sexual misconduct are handled.
Aidan Finnell, a junior at Myers Park High, was a member of the task force that met six times across a span of about a month and a half.
The district released the Title IX Task Force Final Report and Recommendations in November 2021. Students on the task force found CMS’ Title IX training too basic and outdated, poorly organized and not aligned with the realities of risks and exposure that students face, according to the report.
Finnell told the Observer one recommendation students made was that Title IX training begin as early as middle school.
“We were told that there would be an attempt to add/implement (the recommendations) into CMS next school year,” Finnell said.
Savannah confirmed she and her peers were educated on Title IX this year, but the training was short.
“They weren’t making a big deal out of it,” she said of school leaders and Title IX training. “They should’ve made it a big deal.”
This story was originally published June 6, 2022 at 1:36 PM.
